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Short Paws: Bob the Loyal Dog Who Changed a Law · Paws Between Us - Pet Stories, Welfare and Building A Bond

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  Hi, and welcome to Paws Between Us, your regular dose of positive pet news.
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  Every other week we bring you a short, uplifting episode packed with the latest feel-good stories
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  from the world of pets.
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  So take a moment to tune out from all the negative news dominating our headlines and
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  help us shine a light on the good, celebrating the joy pets bring to our lives and sharing
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  the inspiring changes making their lives better too.
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  So, settle in for a short pause and let's spread some positivity together.
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  Yay!
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  Yay!
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  What positive news have you got for us then, Sash?
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  Oh, I have lots that I've been reading about, but firstly, happy Friday.
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  It's nearly the weekend.
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  Yay!
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  Yeah.
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  So good.
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  I know.
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  I know.
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  What a week.
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  What a week indeed.
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  And February just feels like so dull, so cold, so wet and rainy.
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  I don't want to wish my life away, but I am looking forward to a brighter, warmer, sunnier
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  spring and March, aren't you?
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  Oh, well, I have a positive spin on this in that at least we've got through January.
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  Yes.
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  Yes, true.
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  You're right.
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  This podcast, this short pause is all about positivity and positive news, so not going
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  to reflect on the crap weather right now, but yeah, we've got through January, which
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  is probably the hardest month and before we know it, the nights will be lighter and we'll
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  be moving the clocks forward, I think.
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  Forward.
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  Spring forward, yes.
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  Yeah.
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  Spring forward.
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  So, hopefully sunnier days are on the way.
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  Hooray!
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  Hooray!
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  Okay.
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  So, positive news because we all need some, right?
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  There's just so much dark, awful news out there that we want to hear some of the good
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  stuff.
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  I've been having a look through all the headlines and there's three things that jumped out at
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  me, which, yeah, when I read, I thought, this is wonderful, really, really great.
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  So, the first little bit of positive news is the dog who changed the law in Brazil.
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  So, a heart-melting story from Sao Paulo has turned into real lasting change.
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  A dog known as Bob Cavero, bless him, Bob, spent 10 years living in the cemetery where
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  his guardian was buried and he refused to leave the place that he last saw his person.
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  So, over this time, Bob became a gentle presence for grieving families.
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  He walked with funeral processions, offered comfort and even earned his affectionate nickname,
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  the grave digger.
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  I think I prefer Bob, but yeah.
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  And then poor Bob passed away in 2021 and he was buried beside his guardian, but his
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  legacy didn't end there, which is the sort of real news that I'm sharing is because his
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  story inspired lawmakers in Sao Paulo state to pass a new law allowing pets to be buried
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  with their human families, officially recognizing the emotional bond between people and their
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  animals and one of the law's authors said it perfectly, it's not just an animal, it's
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  family.
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  So, this story is really one of those rare moments where a single dog's loyalty ripples
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  outwards into something bigger, something that acknowledges what so many pet owners
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  feel really deeply.
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  Just knowing that pets are family and they also deserve a happy ending, as it were.
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  It sounds like Bob had a lovely life.
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  And what's nice about that is that humans recognizing that love and that compassion
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  and actually it's turned into like a policy change or a law change that allows humans
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  and animals, recognize that kind of link between humans and animals and let them live together
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  forever.
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  So, it's lovely.
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  Yeah.
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  Oh, live together forever.
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  Yeah, I love that.
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  I love that.
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  And then something similar on the same theme, but closer to home here in the UK is a lovely
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  piece of news that I found from East Sussex, a place called Hailsham and it's creating
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  its first dedicated pet cemetery.
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  So it's giving local families a peaceful, dignified place to lay their beloved companions
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  to rest.
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  So, work begins in February with the site expected to open by the end of March.
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  So, yeah, beginning this month and hopefully finish soon.
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  And the idea came about when the town realized the nearest alternative was all the way in
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  a place called Lewis, which is far from ideal when you're grieving and want somewhere close
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  to visit.
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  The new space will offer a hundred plots, each able to hold the ashes of up to two pets.
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  And the council has made a point of designing it to feel calm, respectful and beautifully
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  landscaped.
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  Oh, amazing.
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  I remember going to a pet cemetery when I was quite young in one of my first jobs and
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  it was recognizing animals that had done amazing achievements and had done things for like
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  during the war or like carrier pigeons that had sent messages.
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  It was brilliant to go walk around and just kind of see them all and reflect a little
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  bit.
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  But I'm glad to see here pet cemeteries are becoming more popular.
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  There's one where I live, not far from where I live.
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  It's not something I would be interested in actually for my own pets.
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  I want them to be closer to me than in a plot of land.
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  So my Roscoe is buried in a plant pot in my garden.
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  So I take him with me.
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  I can take him with me in the plant pot so that he can come with us wherever we go.
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  But it's great to hear that there's cemeteries for people because that's what some people
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  need.
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  So brilliant.
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  Yeah, it's nice to have a place to go as well and it's a really pretty quiet space where
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  you can sit and reflect because sometimes you want to get out of the house, don't you?
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  And just have somewhere different to go and remember your pet.
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  But yeah, so sweet that you have Roscoe really close and still part of the home.
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  Yeah.
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  And Diaz as well.
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  We've got Diaz too.
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  Diaz.
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  And then the third and final piece of news was pet saving pets through blood donation.
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  This is a beautiful story that I found from Portland, Oregon, highlighting a side of pet
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  care that many people don't even realize exists, that dogs and cats donating blood to save
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  the lives of other animals.
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  So you hear about human to human blood donation, don't you?
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  But I've never heard of this before.
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  So at the Dove Lewis Veterinary Hospital, pets like Dolly, who's a seven-year-old Labrador,
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  and Rocket, a Golden Lab mix, they're regular donors and they're part of a small but vital
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  community of 94 dogs and 48 cats who give blood to help animals in life-threatening
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  emergencies.
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  Oh, that's so sweet.
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  The process is gentle, quick, and it's built on trust.
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  So the staff there work closely with the pet owners, the pet parents to make sure each
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  pet feels safe and calm, and the donors are rewarded with treats, toys, and plenty of
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  fuss afterwards.
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  And most of them trot back in happily every month.
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  It doesn't say how long the process takes, but yeah, it sounds like the animals are in
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  real safe hands.
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  And the need apparently is huge.
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  The blood bank manager in the article that I found explains there's a major shortage
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  of veterinary blood supplies across the US, and only a handful of centres are large enough
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  to meet demand.
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  So these pet donors are literally helping save lives every day.
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  Bless them.
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  Oh, isn't that nice?
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  It's funny, actually, because I never knew of this, but came across it, I think, through
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  social media recently.
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  Somebody said that their cat had donated some blood to help their other cat, and I was like,
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  I'm so surprised.
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  And I think this was in the UK.
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  So maybe if people are interested and want to support that, then they may be speaking
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  to their vet might be helpful, so they can find out more about it.
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  Lovely to know that it's sort of gentle and calm, and that it's not too invasive, because
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  that would be something I would be wanting to know more about as a pet owner, guardian.
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  So yeah, go and talk to your vet if you want to know more about that, I would recommend.
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  Yeah, and it also made me think about donation of pet organs.
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  I don't know if that happens with pets, for pets needing, well, I don't even know if pets
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  have organ transplants.
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  Yeah, that's interesting.
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  It is.
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  It just made me think.
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  So like in humans, where you might have a new liver or kidney, yeah.
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  I don't know whether those practices happen with pets.
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  I don't know.
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  It's a good one to explore, because I know healthcare is a bit behind in some respects.
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  So maybe we can find out more.
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  Yeah, be good to do a bit of digging.
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  So that's three lovely stories that I found and hopefully puts a smile on people's faces
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  when they can hear about the great things that pets are doing, but also the great things
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  that are available for pets too.
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  Well done, Sash.
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  Thanks for digging those out and we'll bring you more next time.
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  Indeed.
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  If there's anything in particular people want to hear about, please get in touch with us
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  because we'd love to respond to your interests and see if we can answer any of your questions.
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  So yeah, thank you.
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  Yeah, great.
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  So thank you for joining our short falls.
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  Until next time.
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  Bye.
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  Bye.